Preserving stories is at the forefront of the Martha’s Vineyard Living Legends BIPOC and Immigrant Elders Oral History Project.

Since 2021, students from the high school and charter school have been interviewing BIPOC and tribal elders with a mission to continue the tradition of oral history and encourage multi-generational and cross-cultural conversations. A 40-minute edit of the ongoing archival video project was presented Tuesday afternoon at the MVTV Studios

The project is spearheaded by the MV Diversity Coalition Education Committee. Mona Hennessy, one of the organizers, emphasized the importance of archiving local stories.

“It has been a rewarding educational experience for the students and for their teachers, and it gives voice to some of our BIPOC and immigrant elders,” she said before introducing the video. “It has been meaningful to them, and it is important to our Island history.”

Interview subjects included educator Jocelyn Coleman Walton, author Jessica Harris, Dr. Lorna Andrade, tribal elder Beverly Wright, veteran and former football coach Bob Tankard, the late author Robert Hayden and the late spirituals choir director Jim Thomas.

The idea for the project began when the former president of the Vineyard NCAAP Branch, Marie Allen, spoke to students about obstacles she encountered and wrote about in her memoir. Ms. Allen, who died in 2023, ended up being the first interview of the project.

“[When Marie died], it was a moment of understanding that we needed to move on getting these recorded stories into accessible materials,” Ms. Hennessey said.

The intergenerational connection is on display through every interview. Ms. Hennessey recalled a particular interview a student conducted with civil rights advocate Barbara Phillips.

“She talked about something about her hair and one of the students at the high school who was there spoke on camera [and said], I love that, because I really relate to that with my hair,” she said. “Having a 17-year-old young woman relating to this 80-year-old woman on something that connects them...that’s what it’s all about.”

The Diversity Coalition partnered with the Martha’s Vineyard branch of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History to connect students with African American members of the community. Snippets of the interviews edited together span topics such as identity, childhood, where inspiration comes from, and how subjects would like to see society continue spotlighting important stories.

“You have to know where you came from to know where you’re going,” Dr. Andrade said in her interview.

While the project is ongoing — three more interviews are on the docket for this year — the committee hopes to continue polishing their videos to ensure that they can be useful for present and future generations.

“Over the course of this next year, we will have things that will go on to platforms and be accessible,” Ms. Hennessey said. “So as ongoing as it is, it will be usable and out there in the community. There’s so much potential in the direction that this can go.”

For more information and to donate, visit mvdiversitycoalition.org.